


Lay All Your Love On Me

by moosh



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Sick Pepper, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 07:23:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17783093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moosh/pseuds/moosh
Summary: Pepper has made some grand plans for Valentine's Day, but her immune system has other ideas.





	Lay All Your Love On Me

**Author's Note:**

> Just some Valentine's Day fluff! If you're reading this, I love you.

Pepper smiled when she saw her phone light up with a notification - it meant that the final piece of the perfect Valentine’s Day she’d been planning for tomorrow night had finally arrived. They had reservations for Tony’s favorite steakhouse in New York, orchestra seats for _Mamma Mia_ (which Tony inexplicably loved and would happily see once a week if he could), wine and cheese and scotch and chocolate flown in from across the globe waiting for them at the tower, and finally, her brand new _Cadolle_ negligee straight from Paris.

Pepper loved Valentine’s Day and was always a little _extra_ when it came to celebrating with her boyfriends. Yes, she knew that the amount of consumerism was a bit gross but tried not to think about it too much for at least one day of the year.

She grabbed her phone to shoot Tony a quick text, triple checking that he’d be back in New York tomorrow afternoon. He was off with the rest of the Avengers doing God-knows-what, but he promised they’d be back for Valentine’s Day. Tony had never been a huge fan of the holiday, but Pepper’s enthusiasm for it had been contagious and it very quickly become one of their favorite days of the year.

While waiting for a reply she grabbed a Motrin from her desk and sent her assistant to get her a cup of tea. She had a bit of a headache and a tickle at the back of her throat, which she attributed to the amount of talking she’d had to do in a meeting earlier in the day, certainly not to coming down with something. Nope. Pepper never got sick, especially on the eve of Valentine’s Day.

After getting a “ **you bet!:)** ” text from Tony she turned her attention back to her work, hoping that the Motrin would take effect soon. The tea seemed to help a bit but as the afternoon stretched into the evening her headache grew and her energy level plummeted, and half-way through her dinner meeting with a few executives from various solar energy companies the sniffles and the chills began. She managed to excuse herself from the table before dessert and went straight to the car, where it began to hit her hard. She was hot, and then cold, and her nose was running, and she started coughing and sneezing.

She couldn’t believe this. She _never_ got sick. It had been 2 weeks since she’d seen Tony and they’d gotten into a bit of an argument before he left, so all that she wanted to do was spoil him a bit and make him feel loved.

She just needed to sleep. She had taken tomorrow off, and Tony wasn’t supposed to be home until the afternoon, so she could sleep this off. It wasn’t that bad. It was nothing that another cup of tea and some melatonin couldn’t fix, right?

Soon the car was pulling into the garage below Avengers Tower, so she tried to pull herself together as best she could to put on a good show for her driver. She felt a bit woozy as she climbed out of the car, which he seemed to notice.

“You all right, Ms. Potts?”

“Yes Randy, I’m fine. I’m just tired, that’s all. Thank you.” She replied, waving him off. She took a deep breath and walked to the elevator trying to seem cool, calm and collected. Once inside though she leaned back onto the wall and groaned as the cheerful AI began to speak.

“Good evening, Ms. Potts. Where to?”

“Home. Put the kettle on.”

“Yes ma’am. I’ve noticed an elevated body temperature, are you feeling all right? Doctor Montgomery is on call at the medical bay this evening if you’d like to stop there. The flu _has_ been making its way through several departments at SI and - ”

“No Jarvis I’m – I don’t have the flu, I just need to drink some tea and go to sleep.”

“Stopping at the medical bay will only take a moment and I am sure that Sir would – “

“Don’t tell Tony.” She interrupted again. “He doesn’t need to know that I’m…not feeling great. I just need to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be perfect.”

+++++

Tony touched down on the landing pad just after 2PM the next day. He’d spent the past 2 weeks on a rather pointless wild goose chase with the rest of the Avengers going after Hydra goons and was looking forward to spending a few days with Pepper. He wasn’t sure what he was walking into, but he knew that it was going to be good. Pepper always went all-out for Valentine’s Day which was completely unnecessary, but he loved it anyway. He was expecting a string quartet and a chocolate fountain and a surprise getaway to some island in the middle of nowhere where they could hang out and be naked for a few days, not the quiet, empty, slightly messy living room he walked into.

He surveyed his surroundings, confused. Was he supposed to have met her somewhere else? Pepper’s shoes, briefcase and jacket were strewn about on the floor near the door and there were a dozen or so cardboard boxes stacked on the coffee table. In the kitchen a bunch of cabinet doors were open, a honey bear was laying on its side dripping all over the place, and there were cut up lemon wedges that looked like they’d been on the counter all night. “J, did I miss something? Where’s Pepper?” He called out to the AI.

“Welcome home, sir. Ms. Potts is indisposed at the moment.”

“What do you mean _indisposed?_ ” He asked while shutting a few of the cabinet doors.

“Unfortunately, Ms. Potts has not permitted me to tell you that she has taken ill and has been experiencing coughing fits, bouts of the chills, a postnasal drip and a fever hovering right around 102° Fahrenheit for the past 12 hours.”

“ _What?_ ”

Tony immediately turned and headed straight for their bedroom. “Has she seen a Doctor?”

“No sir.”

“Get a doctor up here right now. If Dr. Cho is here, send her. Pepper likes her.” He instructed as he opened the door. He approached the bed and took a seat next to the lump curled up in the fetal position in the corner. Her hair was a mess, there were tissues balled up all over the floor, and the skin around her nose was puffy and red. “Pep?” He asked, cupping her cheek with his hand.

Pepper woke with a start at his touch. “Tony!” She said weakly, trying to sit up.

Tony pushed her back down. “What are you doing? Lay down.”

“No, I’m fine.” She protested, trying to wave him off.

“Really? Because I’m pretty sure I could fry and egg on your forehead right now.”

“What time is it? Just let me sleep for a few more hours and then we’ll got to dinner. Our reservation is at 5:45 which I know is a bit early but – “

Tony placed his pointer finger on her lips to shush her. “We aren’t going anywhere. You are going to stay right here and do whatever the doctor tells you.”

“Doctor? I don’t need a doct – “

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. “Mr. Stark? You needed to see me right away?”

“Dr. Cho! Come on in, we have a very difficult patient.” He said with a smile, standing up. “Jarvis says she’s been a wreck all night and has a 102 fever.”

“102.7 to be exact.” Jarvis chimed in. Pepper rolled her eyes in a huff.

“102.7? Well that’s not good. Mr. Stark, could you go get a few hand towels and dampen them with cool water while I check her out?” She asked plopping her medical bag down next to a very annoyed looking Pepper. When Tony returned with the towels, Dr. Cho was scribbling furiously onto a notepad.

“What’s the diagnosis?”

“Flu.” Dr. Cho replied, not looking up. “I’m going to write her a prescription for Tamiflu, but really she just needs fluids and a lot of rest, and in the meantime, we need to get her fever down.” She reached out to grab one of the towels that Tony was holding and turned back to a now very defeated looking Pepper. “All right, Ms. Potts, lay down and try to keep this on your head. I need you to rest and stay hydrated. Juice, tea, and ginger ale are all safe bets. Broth, too. Never underestimate the healing powers of a bowl of chicken soup.”

“Thank you, Helen.” Pepper replied, taking the towel from Dr. Cho.

“No problem. I’ll get this filled and sent up right away.” She said grabbing her prescription pad.

“Thanks, doc.” Tony called after her as she left the room. He stepped up and took a seat next to Pepper.

“I’m sorry.” She said, adjusting the towel on her forehead.

“For what?”

“It’s Valentine’s Day. I had dinner reservations and _Mamma Mia_ tickets and that stupid expensive chocolate from Germany you like flown in and –“

Tony grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. “I appreciate that, but there are plenty of other days in the year where we can eat steak and go to campy Broadway shows. I’m just glad that I’m here to take care of you.”

“I never get sick.”

“I know. Did you get a flu shot this year?”

“No.” She yawned.

“Well, there’s your problem. Listen, try to sleep for a little while. I need to take a shower and change and go investigate the expensive German chocolate which I assume is in those boxes in the living room.”

Pepper nodded and sighed. She was exhausted. “All right. I love you.”

“Love you too Pep, lay down.”

+++++

Pepper woke a few hours later still feeling like garbage. She pulled the nearly dry towel from her forehead and pitched it across the room. When she sat up and noticed what was waiting for her on the nightstand though, she couldn’t help but smile. There were bottles of water, orange juice and ginger ale in a champagne bucket full of ice, a new box of lotion-infused tissues, and a cheap looking heart-shaped box of chocolates with Iron Man on the front. She grabbed a bottle of orange juice and started tearing the tissue box open when Tony appeared in the doorway again.

“Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Like shit.” Pepper admitted.

“Great, you hungry?”

She thought for a moment. “Yes, actually.”

“All right hang tight. I’ll be right back.”

Pepper grabbed her phone and sighed. She hated this. She hated being sick. She hated things that she couldn’t necessarily control. She hated when plans fell apart. Tony didn’t seem too disappointed though, which was good. He returned a few moments later carrying a tray with a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup on it. He placed it on her lap and then crawled into bed next to her. “Medicine first.” He said dropping a large pill into her hand.

“God it’s big.”

“Thank you, that’s not the first time I’ve heard that.” He said, wiggling his eyebrows at her suggestively.

She laughed and playfully punched him in the shoulder while popping the pill in her mouth. “I hate you.” She said, before gulping down some orange juice.

“No you don’t.” He said, leaning over and kissing her shoulder.

Pepper took a cautious first sip of the soup, unsure of how hot it was. Once she deemed it was an acceptable temperature she began slurping down large, unattractive spoonfuls of it.

“Jesus, I should’ve brought you a bucket and a ladle.” Tony laughed.

Pepper stopped, a little embarrassed. “Sorry, I haven’t eaten since dinner last night. This is really good. Did you make this?”

“…do you think I made it?”

“No.”

Tony shrugged. “It’s from the deli around the corner. The little old lady behind the counter promised me that it would cure whatever you’ve got. They also had the full range of Avengers chocolate boxes, though I don’t recall selling my likeness to any candy companies, so we need to look into that. I almost got you Thor, since I know he’s your favorite, but I didn’t need a picture of me in the Post buying anything with Blondie on it. Barton would never let me hear the end of it. By the way, I gave Steve and Thor the _Mamma Mia_ tickets.”

Pepper couldn’t help but laugh at the thought. “Oh my god, did you tell them what it was about?”

“No, but Steve was pretty excited. He said he hadn’t seen a Broadway show since the 40’s."

“Well I am looking forward to their reviews. We can watch the movie if you still need an ABBA fix.”

“Ehh…the move is great, don’t get me wrong. Meryl Streep is a goddess. But the dude playing Sky looks a lot like my father and it freaks me out.”

“Fair enough.”

After Pepper finished her soup and Tony cleared away the dishes, he crawled back into bed, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. “Feeling any better?” He asked as Pepper started to absent-mindedly play with his hair.

“A little. I think the soup helped.”

“Good.” He said, planting a quick kiss on her elbow.

“We’re not having sex though.” She deadpanned.

“Aw really? Your Bugs Bunny pj bottoms are getting me so hot and bothered though.”

“They’re your pants.”

“Never said I wasn’t a narcissist.”

“Guess I should send that _Cadolle_ box back to Paris then.”

“Hey now, I wouldn’t go _that_ far. I’m sure we could get some use out of whatever’s in there.”

“We’ll see.” Pepper said, kissing the top of his head. “I love you, Tony. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Love you too, Pep. I wouldn’t want to spend Valentine’s Day doing anything else.”

“Not even seeing Mamma Mia with Steve and Thor?”

“Nope.”

She sighed and held him close, not sure if she was ready to admit to him what she was about to, but she figured if anyone was going to understand it’d be him. “Tony?”

“Hm?”

“There’s um – I’m sorry again that I got sick. Ever since…well, everything with Killian I’ve developed a bit of an aversion to needles. So…so that’s why I didn’t a flu shot this year.” She admitted quietly.

Tony pulled her in a little bit closer and was quiet for a moment. “I think you can get a nasal spray version of the vaccine. We’ll get those next year, ok? And stop apologizing because there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

“Ok. Thank you.”

The held each other in silence for a while, just two slightly broken people whose pieces seemed to fit together somehow.

“All right.” Pepper said, finally breaking the silence and pushing Tony off her. “You. Go get some more chocolate. This box isn’t even going to get us through the first song. Jarvis, cue up _Mamma Mia_.”

Tony chuckled as he stood. “Anything else, boss?”

“No, just be quick.”

“Of course. Happy Valentine’s Day, Pepper.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Tony.”


End file.
